I would like to say that your writing skills never fail to dazzle me. This is one fantastic cover letter. Both you and Guo Chen had such illustrious working and studying experience and that really impressed me. In my opinion, you could actually use your cover letter to apply for better positions.
I think probably this time it lacked conciseness but the excellent writing style somehow compensates for the lengthy piece of work. Keep it up the good work!!! (Y)
I totally agree with Sylvester. You have such solid experiences and contributions at your age!
However, I feel you might want to cut down on 1 or 2 examples to make it more concise. Highlight and bring out the important ones and leave the rest for the resume to speak.
All in all, this one remarkable application letter! I believe you will be scouted for many positions after graduation. :))
I agree with Alvin that you might want to pick out a few(about 2) experiences which best showcase your relevant skills.
I understand that we tend to show all the good points, but the problem is that not all HR Officers would want to spend more time to read a longer letter. Hence, conciseness is indeed greatly valued for an application letter.
In my opinion, this one is more like a personal statement. And honestly I think you are over-qualified for this position.
If you do want this job, then your research experiences could be omitted since the duties required by this job are more about administrative work.
These are just my humble opinions. I do suggest that you look for another job which is more research-related since you are going to do a PhD in the future.:)
Thanks so much for the glowing compliments! Haha, I'm actually feel a mix of joy and embarrassment right now. *looks down and shuffles feet* You really give me too much credit.
Regarding your point on 'applying for better positions', I understand the logic behind it (and again, thanks for the subtle compliment). I chose this job mostly because it's a temporary 4-month attachment, which offers me the experience of working with NGH -in a position involving fast-paced administrative duties, which I'm very comfortable with- and offers the opportunity to interact with both healthcare professionals and patients of all ages.
As a current student, I'd rather take on short-term work attachments than long-term commitments. And at this stage in life, I'm open to any (and all) learning experiences. It doesn't matter so much whether the work is 'glamorous' or not. (: What's important is that I benefit the organisation with the skills I offer, and gain relevant experience working in Singapore's healthcare sector. Since after all, I really want to work in this sector post-graduation.
I also picked this job because it offers the opportunity for lots of interpersonal interaction; as opposed to the position of Research Assistant, which actually fits my academic profile better and requires specialized skills, but leaves me stuck in (yet another) lab! Not that I've got anything against lab-work, but I'd like to take a break from it once in a while. (:
I hope you guys don't mind that I'm replying to both your comments in a single post, because both of you brought up very similar points in your respective posts. (:
Regarding conciseness, yes, I fully agree with both of you that my letter could used some 'pruning'. Thanks for helpfully pointing out that I ought to only include information that is immediately relevant to the job-scope. Will work on that asap.
Xi Xi, regarding the section on my research involving leukemia and diagnostic-tool development, I originally meant it to link up with the fact that I have a genuine interest in healthcare (and not just laboratory work). But yes, the letter on a whole could use some tightening-up.
As for my reasons behind the job-choice, they're the same as what I wrote in response to Sylvester's post (above). Haha, this isn't a permanent career choice! (Don't worry!) It's simply a short stint with NHG, which I'd like to take up for the experience. (:
Hi Yuen May,
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that your writing skills never fail to dazzle me. This is one fantastic cover letter. Both you and Guo Chen had such illustrious working and studying experience and that really impressed me. In my opinion, you could actually use your cover letter to apply for better positions.
I think probably this time it lacked conciseness but the excellent writing style somehow compensates for the lengthy piece of work. Keep it up the good work!!! (Y)
Cheers,
Sylvester
Hi Yuen May,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Sylvester. You have such solid experiences and contributions at your age!
However, I feel you might want to cut down on 1 or 2 examples to make it more concise. Highlight and bring out the important ones and leave the rest for the resume to speak.
All in all, this one remarkable application letter! I believe you will be scouted for many positions after graduation. :))
Cheers,
alvin
Hi May,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alvin that you might want to pick out a few(about 2) experiences which best showcase your relevant skills.
I understand that we tend to show all the good points, but the problem is that not all HR Officers would want to spend more time to read a longer letter. Hence, conciseness is indeed greatly valued for an application letter.
In my opinion, this one is more like a personal statement. And honestly I think you are over-qualified for this position.
If you do want this job, then your research experiences could be omitted since the duties required by this job are more about administrative work.
These are just my humble opinions. I do suggest that you look for another job which is more research-related since you are going to do a PhD in the future.:)
Hi Sylvester,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the glowing compliments! Haha, I'm actually feel a mix of joy and embarrassment right now. *looks down and shuffles feet* You really give me too much credit.
Regarding your point on 'applying for better positions', I understand the logic behind it (and again, thanks for the subtle compliment). I chose this job mostly because it's a temporary 4-month attachment, which offers me the experience of working with NGH -in a position involving fast-paced administrative duties, which I'm very comfortable with- and offers the opportunity to interact with both healthcare professionals and patients of all ages.
As a current student, I'd rather take on short-term work attachments than long-term commitments. And at this stage in life, I'm open to any (and all) learning experiences. It doesn't matter so much whether the work is 'glamorous' or not. (: What's important is that I benefit the organisation with the skills I offer, and gain relevant experience working in Singapore's healthcare sector. Since after all, I really want to work in this sector post-graduation.
I also picked this job because it offers the opportunity for lots of interpersonal interaction; as opposed to the position of Research Assistant, which actually fits my academic profile better and requires specialized skills, but leaves me stuck in (yet another) lab! Not that I've got anything against lab-work, but I'd like to take a break from it once in a while. (:
Hi Alvin and Xi Xi,
ReplyDeleteI hope you guys don't mind that I'm replying to both your comments in a single post, because both of you brought up very similar points in your respective posts. (:
Regarding conciseness, yes, I fully agree with both of you that my letter could used some 'pruning'. Thanks for helpfully pointing out that I ought to only include information that is immediately relevant to the job-scope. Will work on that asap.
Xi Xi, regarding the section on my research involving leukemia and diagnostic-tool development, I originally meant it to link up with the fact that I have a genuine interest in healthcare (and not just laboratory work). But yes, the letter on a whole could use some tightening-up.
As for my reasons behind the job-choice, they're the same as what I wrote in response to Sylvester's post (above). Haha, this isn't a permanent career choice! (Don't worry!) It's simply a short stint with NHG, which I'd like to take up for the experience. (: